14days
The same number runs through all three states. A NSW buyer has 14 days to transfer a vehicle’s registration, and a NSW boat seller returns the notice of disposal within 14 days. Victoria asks a seller to tell VicRoads within 14 days, and a boat’s transfer is lodged within 14 days. Queensland says the registration must be transferred within 14 days.
New South Wales
A trailer or caravan
- If the trailer has personalised plates, decide before the sale whether to keep them; otherwise they go with it.
- Submit a notice of disposal straight after the sale. It tells Transport for NSW you are no longer the registered operator and who bought the vehicle, and it means the buyer might be able to transfer the registration online within the 14 days.
- Online, you need a MyServiceNSW account and a NSW driver licence or photo card, plus the buyer’s NSW licence details, the date of sale and the higher of the sale price or the market value.
- Use the paper form instead if the vehicle is conditionally registered, or the sale is for a company, an organisation or an interstate buyer.
- Take the vehicle off any toll account and keep a copy of the notice.
A boat or jet ski
- Sign the Registered Owner section of the registration certificate and give it to the buyer.
- Keep copies of the sale documents and see the buyer’s proof of identity.
- Complete the Notice of Disposal section of the certificate and return it within 14 days of the sale, online, at a service centre or by post. There is no charge.
- The buyer has 14 days to sign the transfer section, show proof of identity, pay the transfer fee and lodge it in person at a service centre.
For a boat, Transport for NSW says both buyer and seller are responsible for the transfer, and the seller stays on the vessel’s record until the buyer registers it.
Pages: Service NSW: submit a notice of disposal, Selling a vehicle, Transfer vessel registration
Victoria
A trailer or caravan
- Before the sale, check whether a roadworthy certificate is needed, and print the transfer form if you want to collect the buyer’s details on paper.
- Complete the notice of disposal with the buyer, most easily in your myVicRoads account or app, using ‘Transfer vehicle’. Within 24 hours VicRoads emails to say the vehicle is out of your name, and any direct debit for its registration is cancelled.
- A conditionally registered vehicle has to be transferred in person, and the buyer applies for a new Certificate of Approved Operations.
- Selling to someone interstate: VicRoads recommends cancelling the registration and removing the plates.
A boat or jet ski
- Buyer and seller check each other’s photo ID, and the seller shows they are the registered operator.
- Write a receipt with the date and time of sale, both names, addresses and signatures, and the vessel’s HIN (if it has one), engine numbers, make and model.
- Complete and sign the vessel transfer form together, and each keep a photo or copy.
- The buyer lodges the transfer at a VicRoads customer service centre within 14 days and pays the fee. The trailer’s transfer is separate paperwork, though both can be lodged together.
If you don’t complete and submit the notice of disposal for a vehicle, VicRoads says you may be subject to fines, tolls and other legal issues linked to it after the sale. An unregistered boat can change hands without notifying VicRoads.
Pages: VicRoads: selling a vehicle, Buy, sell or transfer a boat or jet ski
Queensland
A trailer or caravan
- On the day of sale, complete the seller’s part (Part B) of the vehicle registration transfer application (F3520) and have the buyer sign it. Queensland recommends this even if you plan to transfer online.
- Give the buyer a current safety certificate if the trailer or caravan needs one, which applies to an ATM between 750kg and 4,500kg. A caravan fitted with gas also needs a gas inspection certificate less than 3 months old.
- The buyer lodges Part A and pays the transfer fee; the seller pays no fees.
- If you believe the buyer has not lodged the transfer, you can lodge Part B yourself, in person or, if eligible, online.
A boat or jet ski
- A seller may be able to transfer the registration online.
- The buyer changes the ownership into their name within 14 days, with the Queensland regulated ship registration transfer (F3521), proof of where the boat came from (a receipt, for example) and proof of identity.
- If the boat came with a registered trailer, transfer the trailer’s registration too.
Queensland says that until the transfer is complete, the seller may be held to account for offences the buyer commits, and a vehicle subject to enforcement action by the State Penalties Enforcement Registry cannot be transferred. A seller who fails to obtain and give a current safety certificate may be fined over $700. A Queensland registration cannot be transferred to another state or territory.
To see what is registered in your name, Transport and Main Roads points to My registrations online, or 13 23 80.
Pages: Transferring a registration in person, Register a boat, Safety certificates
Club and conditional registration
Vehicles on a club scheme follow different rules when sold. NSW historic and classic registration, and Victoria’s club permit, cannot be transferred at all; the club plate explains what happens instead.
Other states and territories
Each has its own transfer steps; the agencies are listed on the home page.